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Dark Matter [Paperback]

Michelle Paver
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (274 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Book Description

1 Sep 2011

January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to join an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken.

But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible.

And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark...


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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Orion (1 Sep 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1409121186
  • ISBN-13: 978-1409121183
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (274 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

Evocative, chilling and superbly unsettling, it is very good indeed. (Sarah Broadhurst BOOKSELLER )

This gripping ghost story has moments of horror and beauty (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

Paver's descriptions of the topography are marvellously vivid and add to the sense of menace that suffuses the story (Joan Smith SUNDAY TIMES )

'An atmospheric ghost story that would give Susan Hill a run for her money' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )

A chilling period piece, Dark Matter cunningly illustrates how fear, rather than death, is the great equaliser. (INDEPENDENT )

More than just a ghost story, this is an exquisitely told psychological thriller. Unputdownable! (WOMANS WEEKLY )

A genuinely terrifying tale ... I cannot recommend this novel enough, especially in these dark nights, you will certainly get more than you bargained for. I did. (SAVIDGE READS Book Blog )

Ghost stories don't frighten me much but this one did. Quite a lot, actually ... Chilling in every respect. (Richard Madeley )

Dark Matter builds suspense brilliantly ... As well as a ghost story, it's a great portrayal of Svalbard and the experience of spending a winter in the Arctic. (ADVENTURE TRAVEL )

Book Description

A terrifying 1930s ghost story set in the haunting wilderness of the far north.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
106 of 113 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A chilly thrill! 26 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Michelle Paver is best-known for her very enjoyable young adult series `The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness'. Dark Matter is not Paver's first adult novel but it is her first ghost story. It is an eerie story set in the Arctic in the late 1930s. Dark Matter is told in the first person through the journal of Jack Miller. Jack Miller is poor and eager to change his life so when four upper-class young men offer him the chance to be a wireless operator on an Arctic expedition he jumps at the chance even though the difference in their class makes him the odd man out.

The expedition seems to be doomed from the start and there are inklings of chilling things to come on the deserted bay of Gruhuken.
What makes Dark Matter so effective is Paver's clever evocation of the stark and desolate landscape of the Arctic and Jack's increasing isolation as the novel progresses. It is more of a psychological novel than a gory sort of ghost story but the best ghost stories often are. It is the suggestion of the ghost which creates the most suspense and there is a genuine sense of unease throughout the novel which Paver manages to keep up all the way through.

What I also liked is the relationships in the novel which I felt lifted it from the normal, run-of-mill ghost story into something really interesting. The tense relationships between Jack and his fellow explorers - Gus and Algie being the main ones and Gus in particular- and Jack's relationship with the husky Isaak which is finely portrayed and the most warming part in a very chilly novel!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad 19 Feb 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Michelle Paver has written a lot for children and on one level this story is told in a very simplistic way. Aspects of the book however are quite spooky. The main character, for example, talks about how he doesn't like to wear his snow shoes when he is out in the Tundra alone; they make a sound like someone is following in the darkness. It is not difficult to imagine the eeriness of Jack's plight but as the story gains momentum it seems to end a little abruptly.

If you like ghost stories do read this book, but don't read it laid on the sofa whilst the kids play on the Wii. Read it in bed at night with your bedside light casting shadows and the wind whistling at the window - you will be chilled. As for the reviewer who read it alone in an isolated farmhouse, I wouldn't do that in a million years!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars spooky and thrilling 16 Nov 2010
Format:Hardcover
The set-up for this ghost story is economical and effective - a working class young man drawn onto a polar expedition with three upper-class gentleman explorers. The sense of dread builds slowly through throwaway comments and strange events recorded in diary format. Several bits were really quite chilling, and the silent figure whom the protagonist witnesses in Gruhuken reminds one very much of The Woman in Black or The Turn of the Screw. The descriptions of the Arctic landscape are superb. My only quibble is that this is a very short book which felt slightly rushed: the protagonist's psychology hints at much rich texture which is unexplored - his past, his sexuality - and there was room for plenty more scares before the slightly anti-climactic denouement. It was a shame that the author had to abandon the diary format near the end - the impression was that she couldn't make the narrative work while sticking to it, and so had to withdraw from the established narrative structure. The epilogue diary entry had me expecting a final twist that never came. Still, despite these minor issues, I really enjoyed Dark Matter.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Is there anyone there?
Quite a brooding book.The sense of isolation the main protagonist faces is captured very well.There's a book called The Haunted Book,by Jeremy Dyson that deals with a very similar... Read more
Published 8 hours ago by Peachy
5.0 out of 5 stars atmospheric and chilling
I am probably biased here because I love everything to do with the Arctic/colder climates of the world, but this book sets the scene very well and provides an excellent description... Read more
Published 4 days ago by rootfm
4.0 out of 5 stars A very ghostly tale
I came across Dark Matter on a random Amazon wandering, and I was immediately attracted to both the cover, and the synopsis. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Kat from The Aussie Zombie
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Matter - a great ghost story
If you want to read a gripping ghost story then this is a good place to start.

A credible, well constructed plot with good characters that keeps you wanting to find out... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Review-twerp
3.0 out of 5 stars Average in the Arctic
I did enjoy reading this story, but as I progressed through the story I felt that it was trying too hard. Read more
Published 15 days ago by V. G. Harwood
3.0 out of 5 stars A good spooky story
Never really hits the heights tension wise though.

Certainly not a spine tingler for me as there always seemed to be a sense of acceptance by the main character that he... Read more
Published 24 days ago by M. King
5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling read
I loved this book. It was a real insight into spending time in the arctic as well as being a chilling and gripping story. I would like to read more of her work. Read more
Published 24 days ago by R. G. Dean
4.0 out of 5 stars tense and exciting
I enjoyed this book because you felt you were there with him experiencing what he felt and couldn't wait to turn the page
Published 25 days ago by Mrs B A Freeman
5.0 out of 5 stars An easy read
Read this book in two sittings - can fully understand the thoughts of the main character and feel you are there with him. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Celia Duncan
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Atmospheric
Whilst I did not find 'Dark Matter' one of those books you could not put down, it was nevertheless, a very good read and well written. Read more
Published 25 days ago by DWK
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